11-11-2002, 04:13 PM
A veteran is the nurse or doctor who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
A veteran is the POW who went away one person and came back another, or didn't come back at all.
A veteran is the drill instructor who has never seen combat but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-accent rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each others backs.
A veteran is the parade riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
A veteran is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
A veteran is three anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetary must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous herose whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
A veteran is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied now and aggravatingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
A veteran is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
Some other things I would like you to consider.....
It's the soldier, not the reporter, who gave us our freedom of the press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who gave us our freedom of speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gave us our freedom to demonstrate.
It's the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves others with respect for the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag
I didn't write this, but thought it would be appropriate...
A veteran is the POW who went away one person and came back another, or didn't come back at all.
A veteran is the drill instructor who has never seen combat but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-accent rednecks and gang members into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each others backs.
A veteran is the parade riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
A veteran is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
A veteran is three anonymous heroes in The Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetary must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous herose whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
A veteran is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket, palsied now and aggravatingly slow, who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
A veteran is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
Some other things I would like you to consider.....
It's the soldier, not the reporter, who gave us our freedom of the press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who gave us our freedom of speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gave us our freedom to demonstrate.
It's the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves others with respect for the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag
I didn't write this, but thought it would be appropriate...
"Hey lady, it's a vagina..not a fucking clown car!"-Dennis Miller